Just Another Day at the Office
by butterfly collective
Summary: A writing prompt exercise about another day at the office for C.J. and Matt


Another writing prompt from a while back which makes no sense what so ever. I hope you enjoy it, thanks for reading!

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He worked up a good lather training in his customary gym, the one that was down a flight of curvy stairs from the top level of the penthouse suite. For over an hour, he had lifted weights to build up his muscle mass and had sparred with his punching bag that hung suspended from the ceiling. Before he began his workout, he had asked Chris and Renee his two secretaries to notify him before his two o'clock arrived so that he could freshen up before his meeting with his client. The one whose father had died mysteriously and left a will being contested by his five ex-wives, two mistresses and their 20 children.

Matt had walked into his office from his helipad with C.J. just yesterday having flown in from the ranch into a lobby crowded with women and children including several toddlers who had taken off running across the suite, dangerously close to the Jacuzzi. He had reached down and scooped a little boy with curly dark hair up and carried him to the crowd that had congregated near the wet bar. C.J. had taken over the research portion of the assignment on the computer network while he had separated a couple of brewing catfights among the wives and mistresses and squabbles among the children.

The afternoon had left him exhausted and he had stripped out of his clothes and hit the Jacuzzi after they all had departed his suite, dressed in only his cowboy hat. C.J. still sat by the computer, her back to him and he knew she was too polite to try to catch a glimpse of him in the altogether, what could be seen that hadn't been hidden by swirling bubbles. After a couple of hours, she had handed him a robe and a scotch while keeping her eyes averted and he had joined her on the sofa to collect and research a list of suspects after having diagrammed the very complicated family tree of the Costa family.

He had crashed at the suite, not wanting to fly his chopper home after such a tough day and fortunately, his outfit was fully equipped for him to stay there overnight or longer. A spacious bed awaited downstairs just off of his gym and the room where he and C.J. often played pool to figure out a particularly difficult case or simply to unwind after a long day.

And so another day had arrived which saw him working the kinks out of his body not to mention sweat before he started the round of appointments of a slew of suspects in the death of the Costa family patriarch. After doing a couple sparring rounds, he decided to hit the shower which he did, the warm water cascading on his body refreshed him. He heard footsteps coming down the staircase, probably Chris down to tell him his time was up.

"Houston…are you finished yet?"

He stopped lathering up the soap on his chest.

"C.J. is that you?"

He heard her snort in response and imagined her rolling her eyes and flipping her hair back at such a question.

"Who else," she said, "You've got Lucille Costa up there waiting for you in your office."

He sighed. Ah, the youngest daughter and the one who had come up behind him and whispered in his ear during the soiree yesterday. Her cologne had hit his nostrils and her breath, his cheek.

"Did Chris tell her I'd be there in a few minutes?"

"Sure did," C.J. said, "You need a towel?"

Matt told her yes and she tossed him one over the shower door. He had wrapped it around his waist and came out of the shower, water still glistening on his chest. He picked up another smaller one to dry his hair and then walked towards his dressing area. C.J. just watched him go by, saying nothing and he couldn't tell whether she watched him or not and he didn't check to see. He reached into his closet for a business suit off of his rack and after drying off, began changing, while still carrying on a conversation with C.J. as they normally did. At least they did when he showered because on the occasions that she did, he gave her plenty of space. Except for the one time he had walked down stairs and saw…well never mind. She had pulled her towel closer to her body, her damp hair in curls around her face and had just threw him an indignant look, though he swore he saw a smile beneath it.

Must have been the light.

"So what's it like up there," Matt asked, buttoning his dress shirt.

C.J. kept a respectable distance out of view.

"Just her by herself," she said, "but she's dressed to the nines Houston down to her six inch stiletto heels."

That intrigued Matt as he sat down on the chair to put on his cowboy boots. After all, he had just broken up with Celeste who had won him as a high bidder in a charity auction.

"She's beautiful Houston," C.J. said, "and very well heeled."

Damn she had read his mind again.

"But she's also a client, so keep that in mind before you tango with her."

Matt came out fully dressed as the successful businessman known around the world for his conglomerate. C.J. clearly approved of his attire because she smiled warmly at him.

"Don't you worry about a thing," he told her, "I'm just going to be my suave Texan self."

She followed him up the stairs and both saw her at the same time. And yes, she had long blonde hair in waves and a deep tan that came from having the time to nurture it on the best beaches around the world. Her body appeared toned from playing tennis rather than kick boxing and she wore a form fitting dress to impress. And not Matt's mind either as even he picked up.

Lucille purred when she saw him and strode over to him, looking graceful as a panther, a high heeled one of course. She shot C.J. a condescending look as she looked up at Matt, throwing him a kittenish smile.

"Good morning dahling," she said, rearranging his collar, "I am here for our…meeting."

C.J. just passed by rolling her eyes at them and headed to her office. She had Lucille's number and figured she might have him wrapped around her finger soon enough. Matt had actually dated or otherwise gotten involved with quite a few of his clients at one time or another and sometimes reunited with them for old time's sake.

"Now Ms Costa…"

"Call me Lucille," she said, "I feel like I already know you…"

"Well, I guess we'd better get this meeting started," Matt said, "Would you like anything to drink?"

She shrugged with a flighty air.

"A Scotch on the rocks," she said.

Matt went to go prepare her one and pour just a glass of juice for himself after his vigorous workout. Chris walked up to him and cast a careful glance at Lucille who had begun sipping her Scotch as soon as it hit the bottom of her glass.

"What is it Chris," Matt asked.

"Hoyt…line five…"

Matt told Lucille that he'd be back in a moment and to wait for him in his office. He grabbed the phone and sure enough, Hoyt had some news for him about the death of the eldest Costa.

"Coroner's report is back on it Houston," the lieutenant said.

"Was it natural causes or something else?"

Hoyt sighed.

"Take a guess," he said, "We're going to have to start interviewing family members so if they're your clients…"

"I haven't decided yet Hoyt," Matt said, "I have his daughter Lucille in my office."

"First name basis already," Hoyt said, "You work quickly."

That grated Matt. Really this reputation of him putting the moves on his female clients, vastly exaggerated. Okay so maybe he had been engaged to a client or two but those had happened during times he had been too busy to go out and meet a lot of women outside his work. He absently heard the bell signaling that someone had arrived at the suite from the elevator.

"Hoyt, if you're going to arrest anyone, I'd appreciate a heads up."

"We're a long way from that or any indictment on this one," he said, "The ink on the coroner's report isn't even dry yet but I'll give you a call if anything develops."

"Thanks Hoyt…"

Matt hung up the phone and glanced up at a tall, muscular young man with curly dark hair who looked suspiciously like…but he didn't stop to talk to Matt. He continued on towards his partner's office and walked right inside. Who was that man, he had to find out before he returned to talking with Lucille about what she knew about her father's death which had now been declared a homicide.

When he reached C.J.'s office, he saw her sitting on her desk, her arms wrapped around the man and her lips locked with his, as his hands stroked her hair. Matt felt a bit ill at ease at witnessing the sight but he cleared his throat anyway.

C.J. and the man broke from their embrace and she smiled at Matt.

"Oh…hi…you haven't met him have you?"

Each man looked at her uncertain who she had been addressing.

"Houston…this is Carlos Costa…Carlos, this is my business partner Matt Houston…"

Carlos looked over at Matt and shook his hand.

"Oh so you're the private investigator hired by some members of my family," he said.

Matt just looked back at him.

"And you're the man acting awfully familiar with my business partner."

C.J. sighed, looking between them.

"Houston…I'm allowed a personal life which is none of your business," she said, "I knew Carlos before his father died."

Matt folded his arms.

"It's a small world."

Carlos smiled.

"It is, isn't it," he said, "Well C.J. I was going to take you to lunch at the new Italian place but if you're busy…"

C.J. looked over at Matt and then smiled at Carlos.

"Oh no…just give me a minute here," she said, "I believe we're done here Houston and that Lucille's waiting for you in your office."

"Oh yeah…right…"

Matt couldn't believe he had forgotten about his could-be client but seeing C.J. act like this in front of him had been like getting ice water thrown in his face. She watched as she and Carlos walked out past him towards the elevator. Her arm interlinked in his own and the two appeared to be chatting with each other.

In the meantime, Lucille awaited him and when he entered into his office, there sat Lucille on his desk giving him a come hither look. He sighed, just watching her.

"You're here to give me information about your father and who could have killed him, right?"

She looked at him with a pout forming on her mouth and then she slowly slipped off his desk and into a chair where she sat to answer his questions. He tried to keep his mind on the interview but his mind wandered…who was Carlos and how much did C.J. really know about him?

And where had he been the night his father had died?

The day passed busily enough but C.J. hadn't returned back to the office. He imagined that she must still be out with Carlos having a very, very long lunch. Lucille had left but not without kissing him on the mouth, catching him by surprise. Then she had winked at him and walked to the elevator, and Matt felt that after two hours of trying to interview her about her relationship with her father, he had come no closer to finding out if she had wanted him dead or not. Maybe he would find out more information when the family members all gathered for the reading of the will at the lawyer's office the next day. He went to the wet bar to get the Scotch that he had needed all day and drank it slowly on the couch. Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him. C.J. went to fetch herself a wine cooler and sat down on a chair next to him, smiling to herself. He waited for her to say something, to ask how his day had gone, to tell him where she had been.

"So do you think Lucille did it," C.J. asked him finally.

He looked over at her.

"I'm not sure," he said, "It was really difficult to keep her mind focused on her father's death and not elsewhere."

C.J. nodded.

"It's a very complicated family," she said, "Anyone of a dozen of them could have done it."

Matt watched the emotions play on her face. She wore a lightness that brought out a side of her that he rarely saw. He knew he hadn't been responsible for it, that it had been Carlos if anyone who had made her return to the office in a happy state.

"Does that apply to Carlos?"

He expected some words of reproach from her, irritation in her voice but what he got was silence. He saw her fingering her glass.

"I don't know…," she said, "We never talked about that."

He proceeded slowly.

"How well do you really know him?"

"Better than you know Lucille," she shot back quickly, "but not as well as I thought."

He looked at her sharply then.

"He's married," she said, "but he wanted me to have an affair with him."

Matt frowned.

"And you just found that out," he asked, "You haven't…"

She looked at him suddenly.

"Of course not," she said, "I asked him about it and he said they don't have that kind of marriage anymore."

The oldest story in the book, Matt thought. He didn't have to ask her if she bought it or not. Because he knew she had walked away.

Like he had from Lucille's attempts to seduce him inside his office. He looked over at her and she didn't appear too upset about it. She just leaned further back in her chair putting the wine cooler down.

"This could be one of our most complicated cases yet," C.J. said, "and it's all yours."

His eyes widened.

"What are you talking about," he said, "I thought we'd handle it together like we usually do."

She stood up.

"I'm packing up a bag and I'm going on a well deserved vacation," she said, "to think about what I want with my life and whether I want someone to share it with."

"But…"

"No Houston, I really want this," she said, "I'll be back in a couple of months."

And with that, she turned around and walked away, leaving him speechless with his Scotch in hand.


End file.
